Design Philosophy.
Co-creation is the backbone of every Lusio project. We put the learning community at the center of the design process and they have an active role during every phase. We use the “design thinking” method to make sure that people are heard and that they understand and approve their future space before it is built. The end result is a unique space that they recognize as their own creation.
process timeline.
Defining project goals
We kick off the project with a meeting where you tell us about the project goals and intended impact on the learning community who will inhabit the new space. You share the dreams, inspirations and examples that you admire. You also tell us about your concerns, difficulties and challenges. We listen.
Observation & interviews
We come to the school to spend time in the existing space, together with students and teachers. We observe how the current physical environment helps or impedes the specific learning style of the community. The observations we have gathered power the in-depth interviews that we hold with teachers, students, parents and staff, where numerous hidden pain points emerge. We observe and listen.
Ideation workshops
At this stage we transform the expressed or hidden pain points we gathered into design challenges waiting to be solved. In ideation workshops we facilitate the teachers and students to come up with working solutions that we later feed into the new space design. Everyone is excited to sketch, draw, discuss and model their designs. We ask lots of “why-s” and continue to listen.
Design strategy
Based on the accumulated understanding of the learning community and its specifics , our team brainstorms numerous designs before we filter out a final design strategy on how the new space should function and look like. It incorporates the design solutions from the ideation workshops. We also put great care in explaining our idea with visual references because we know people do not understand technical drawings. We design.
Feedback workshops
During feedback workshops, we present our concept to teachers, students and parents and we listen with an open mind to everything they have to say. We discuss together how to improve the parts of the concept that are still challenging and update the design afterwards. More importantly, the learning community begins to have a shared visual understanding of the new space design and feels involved in the process of its creation. We listen and update.
Concept design
We incorporate the received feedback and update the idea to reach a final concept design. Here we prepare material and color collages. We test our design choices with 3D model and sometimes we prepare renderings of specific spaces. We go the extra mile and take great care to present the concept design as an elaborate album that helps clients raise money and awareness for the project from the wider public.We prepare a captivating final output.
Design development and approval at institutions
At this point of the project we involve all the required engineers and specialists to develop the project’s technical aspect: structure, electrical, HVAC, water and sewage, fire safety and others. Together we produce technical documentation for institutional approval to receive a building permit and to have an estimate for material quantities for the construction phase. We create precise technical documentation.
Construction documents and design supervision
We elaborate detailed drawings that serve to build or produce specific details or elements that are custom. We communicate extensively with you and the suppliers to ensure the right choice of materials, the specific quantities and selection of products. We also sync the designs with the specific producers of furniture and other custom elements. During construction, we regularly visit the building site to ensure that our design is being understood and executed correctly.
Teacher training for space usage
Once the space is ready and about to be inaugurated, we hold a training seminar with the teachers to show them the different educational capabilities of the designed space. This alleviates their anxiousness of using a completely new space, especially when its layout is different from the one they are currently used to.
Post-occupancy research
One year after the inauguration of the new space, we come back to observe how the learning community utilizes it. We assess the design successes and failures not only by observing, but also by speaking to members of the learning community who give us feedback on the daily functioning of the space. This is essential learning for us as we strive to become better with every single project.
